Business Innovation for Engineers

The world is changing rapidly. Major technological, environmental, and societal transformations are increasing the demand for broader and more advanced expertise to tackle complex challenges. These changes also present new challenges for educational and research institutions striving to generate the knowledge necessary to design and implement innovative solutions. Addressing these issues requires a blend of technical expertise and business insight—especially for engineers, who play a crucial role in shaping the future through innovation. In this context, the integration of engineering and management principles has become increasingly important in developing the future generations of engineers.

The Business Innovation for Engineers minor bridges the gap between engineering and business principles and highlights the role of innovation in business contexts, as well as its significance for companies and society. Innovation extends beyond technological development—it also involves understanding market dynamics, financial sustainability, ethical considerations, and strategic management. By participating in this program, engineering students will learn how to evaluate and implement sustainable, technologically sound, and commercially viable solutions, through a multidisciplinary approach. The end goal of this program is to train comprehensive engineers, namely students with competencies that are essential for every stage of innovation and move beyond technical knowledge, including business acumen, collaboration, leadership, and problem-solving. With this comprehensive skill-set, students will be prepared to address real-world challenges using a balanced approach that combines technical excellence with business relevance. They will engage with scientific theories, analyse case studies, and tackle real-world business problems, enabling them to apply their learning in practical settings. Additionally, they will collaborate with peers from diverse backgrounds to develop the management and leadership skills necessary for driving innovation initiatives.

You will learn the essential aspects of the innovation process in established companies through a multidisciplinary approach. You will study and gain insight into how strategic, managerial, marketing, financial, and ethical, considerations impact innovation and how they are intertwined.

After completing the minor, you will:

• Understand and analyse the innovation process in established companies.
• Understand and evaluate value sensitive criteria for evaluating innovations in the innovation process.
• Analyse and evaluate relations and tensions between value sensitive criteria.
• Evaluate the innovation process in respect to its societal implications, incl. considerations about safety, risk, and ethics.
• Apply the innovation process and value sensitive criteria in a concrete case to develop requirement specifications.
• Create value sensitive requirement specifications in a concrete case.

Registration for this thematic minor is on a first-come, first-served basis and available places. (No lottery draw).

Our vision is to enable you to responsibly apply your engineering skills in innovation processes in established companies based on a thorough understanding of innovation processes. Innovation processes in established companies differ in important ways from innovation in start-ups. For example, the relevant financial and strategic considerations differ. Established companies have a significant impact on society through their innovation process. This minor focuses on innovation in established companies.

Student at Leiden University, TU Delft or Erasmus University Rotterdam?
Check the eligibility matrix to see if your bachelor’s degree programme offers access to this and other minors at https://www.tudelft.nl/minor

Student at another educational institution?
External students cannot register via EduXchange. Interested in this minor, read the whole registration procedure at https://www.tudelft.nl/minor

For information about the courses, visit the TU Delftstudy guide.
For additional information on this minor, visit the TU Delftminor page.

Lectures, conventional and flipped classroom, work groups, a business game, and applying theory to practice in a concrete case.

Check the detailed overview of courses, learning activities and study load at https://www.studyguide.tudelft.nl/